Mission accomplished

I found this over at Warts and All.

Very cool video of I guess what I would call group performance art at Grand Central Station.

Thirteen Things I'm looking forward to

1….A glimpse of sun. It has been raining, sleeting, or snowing here since Monday.



2..Playing one of my son's lengthy strategy board games this weekend. He always beats me mercilessly.



3..Having some of my kids' friends over today. They are a nice buffer after all this inside together time.




4..Finishing a blog post about unschooling. I have been overthinking it.




5..Having my husband bring me my coffee on Saturday morning while I laze in bed. He heats the milk, and sweetens it just right. This little ritual means everything to me. It's the little things, guys.




6..Listening to my son play the piano.




7..Spending some overdue alone time with my husband. Fingers are crossed about getting a babysitter.




8..Going to the library to get some new reads. My bedside stack is running low. Any ideas?




9..Making Valentines with the boys. They indulge me a bit here.




10..Planning the do-over for my parents' 50th anniversary debacle.




11..Getting in a good long walk/gab fest with a friend.




12..Buying my next pair of pants in the next smallest size. The exercise is working!




13..Sun, sun, and more sun. Did I mention that already?




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Our Superbowl Sunday

So....they lost. The New England Patriots lost the Superbowl. Honestly, I don't really care as I am not a huge football fan, but my husband's disappointment was palpable. The boys and I consoled him, and this morning we declared it "Mopey Monday." Just a day to allow the loss to sink in so we can all move on. Congrats to any Giants fans out there. I never watch football, but I watched this and I could appreciate the craft of a well-played, well-matched game.

In order to take the edge off, and add some perspective, here are some photos of our pre-game festivities, when the possibility of a historical 19-0 season was spread out before us like a blanket of...of untouched guacamole.

I think the most consoling words I can think to offer my husband. The most compassion for this that I can muster, are these.:

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in two weeks.

Reclaiming the Birth Experience

Yesterday,I viewed a surprisingly poignant and jarring film about birth in the USA. Ricki Lake is the executive producer, which made me skeptical going into it, but the powerful images and footage of the birth experiences in the film speak for themselves. Afterwards there was a panel discussion, led by four midwives. I was moved by their dedication to women and their right to a non-medicalized birth. US women have become indoctrinated in the modern medical mindset which tells us that normal, healthy birth is something to be manipulated, numbed, and scheduled.

According to the movie, the US has the second highest rate of infant mortality among developed nations. In Europe and Japan, roughly 75% of births are attended by midwives, compared to only 2% in the US. In effect, by imposing the norm of medical intervention, pitocin drips, epidurals, and a skyrocketing rate of elective C-Sections, women are being robbed of one of the most unique and powerful of human experiences.

I remember being in labor with my boys, and amidst the increasing length and pain of the contractions I doubted my ability to give birth naturally. My midwife reminded me that I could, and she held my hand and she encouraged me. I was scared and distraught. When the miraculous moment came and my baby was born, the incredible flood of relief and triumph I felt was unlike anything I had ever felt before. The natural oxytocin that flooded my brain as my body responded freely and naturally to the birth, helped to bond me with my newborn, to love him and feed him and warm him. I would have bonded with him anyway, but I would have missed that feeling, and I think that feeling is important.

I know that not every woman can experience natural birth for a variety of reasons, but we are doing our sisters, daughters, our men, and ourselves an injustice by habitually accepting the notion that a healthy, normal birth is not compromised by medical interventions of a billion dollar birth industry. It is. I am grateful for the availability of high-level medical care. Doctors can perform miraculous life-saving interventions, but when they are not called for, get them out of the birth room.

*SPOILER*

At the end of the movie, the film-maker is transported to the hospital during labor after her midwife determines that her baby is presenting as breach. She has an emergency C-Section and mother and baby pull through.

Here is a link to the movie trailer. It will be publicly released on DVD this month.

Read All About It

The Carnival is Here!!

The Current Issue of Unschooling Voices, a blog carnival of posts related to unschooling is up. You never know who might be linked there.

Check it out!

Friday Fill-In

1. Once I was a springboard diver.
2. Being pampered is the only good part about being sick.
3. Today at home I ignored Mount McLaundry.
4. What's The Old Spice Girls tour all about?
5. If I make a mistake I try not to make it again.
6. When I woke up this morning, I thought it would be a good day to stay in and watch movies with the boys.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to my husband coming home, tomorrow my plans include going to the Ricki Lake movie about home birth with a LaLeche friend and Sunday, I want to get outside with my kids!